About World Copyright Day - The Day of the Book

About World Copyright Day - The Day of the BookAbout World Copyright Day - The Day of the BookApril 23 is a traditional day of celebration of books and publishing, an important day in the international annual calendar of book publishing events. Read about how April 23 became The Day of the Book and UNESCOs World Book and Copyright Day, and about the other book celebrations those traditions inspired. The Day of the Book - Rosy Beginnings The Day of the Book in the Catalan provinces of Spain had their roots in the celebration of the patron saint of Catalonia, St. George (St. Jordi). Since the Middle Ages, St. Georges Day, April 23, has been celebrated in Barcelona and the other Catalan provinces (as well as in many other countries, including England, where he also the patron saint).Saint George welches a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and welches martyred for this faith. During the Middle Ages, soldiers coming back from the Crusades also brought back the legend of St. George slaying a dragon.According to the story, a terrible dragon terrorized a town, demanding that the inhabitants sacrifice two sheep a day to keep him fed. Once the sheep were gone, the townspeople were forced to sacrifice their children, chosen each day by lottery.The kings daughter lost the lottery and was awaiting being devoured by the dragon when Saint George happened by and slew the beast with his sword. The dragons blood spilled to the ground on that spot a rosebush grew. Saint George plucked the rose and gave it to the princess. For many years, a mans gift of a rose to his girlfriend was the accepted form of celebration of Saint Georges Day, sometimes called Day of the Rose or Day of the Lovers. Lovers to Libres on The Day of the Book During the 1920s, a Catalonian bookseller noted that April 23 was also the date of both William Shakespeares and Miguel Cervantess deaths (both in 1616). In a brilliant, enterprising stroke of book promotion, it was determined that a boo k would be the perfect gift to be given in exchange for the rose- and El Dia de Libre (The Day of the Book) was established.Today, the El Dia de Libre tradition is firmly entrenched in Barcelona, Spains publishing capital for books in both the Catalan and Spanish languages. There, books are exchanged for roses and vice versa, regardless of sex - a rose for love and a book forever.During Barcelonas April 23 St. Jordi / Book and Rose Fair, the hundreds of stalls along the famous, tree-lined pedestrian thoroughfare, La Rambla (or Las Ramblas), are filled with florists and booksellers. Some sources estimate that nearly half a 1000000 roses are sold, and it is estimated that half of all annual book purchases in Catalonia are made on April 23. Other literary events, such as author readings, are also scheduled, and the date is also a popular one for launching new books into the marketplace. UNESCO Declares World Book and Copyright Day Inspired by the Catalan El Dia del Libre, in 199 5 The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared April 23 to be World Book and Copyright Day. The goal of World Book and Copyright Day is to promote reading, publishing, and the protection of intellectual property through copyright around the world.UNESCO encourages the support of authors, publishers, teachers, librarians, and the media to help bring the World Book and Copyright Day celebration to the greater reading public, and provides resources such as downloadable posters. There is sometimes a designated focus for World Book and Copyright Day events, often to coincide with other UNESCO initiatives. Some past themes have been Books and Translations,Evolution of Book Production, from Writing to Digital, The Link Between Publishing and Human Rights, etc. World Book Day and World Book Night in the U.K. and Ireland Since the mid-1990s, World Book Day in the U.K. and Ireland has promoted childrens books and reading by giving kids a token that is exchanged for a book. Due to the late April conflict with the U.K. and Ireland school calendars, World Book Day was shifted to the first Thursday in March. World Book Night, geared to celebrating books and promoting reading to adults, was established in the U.K. and Ireland in 2011 and continues to be held on April 23. World Book Night U.S. While there have been World Book and Copyright Day observances throughout the years in the United States, in 2012 a formal World Book Night celebration of April 23 was inaugurated the first U.S. World Book Night featured in the form of a special million-book giveaway. After a couple of years, however, the event failed to gain traction and World Book Night U.S. was discontinued. Of course, books continue to be celebrated in the U.S. in other events, such as Independent Bookseller Day.

How to Ace a Bartender Job Interview

How to Ace a Bartender Job InterviewHow to Ace a Bartender Job InterviewIf youre abartenderlooking for work, you can expect to attend a job bewerbungsinterview before you get hired. Whats the best way to make a good impression on your interviewer? Essentially, he or she will be looking for someone who has great people skills and can make good decisions while on the job. Ace your job interview by preparing answers to the typical interview questions youll be asked. Getting ready for yourjob interviewahead of time will make you seem more calm, poised, and confident when you meet your potential employer. Itll also give you the edge over the competition. Read on to learn more about specific topics that your interviewer will want to know about. Discernment and Judgment Being a bartender requires discernment. In fact, your judgment can potentially save lives when dealing with customers who have been drinking heavily. As a result, potential employers often ask bartenders whether theyre c apable ofassessing if someone has had too much to drink. No bar or restaurant wants to be on the hook for patrons who leave their establishment and drink and drive, or who do do something equally as dangerous because theyre intoxicated. Its important for a bartender to know when to stop serving inebriated customers, and also how to deal with the fallout if the customers get angry. Bartenders must also handle conflict, such as customers whove had too much to drink and behave rudely or obscenely as a result. Theres not necessarily one right answer to these sorts of interview questions, but your prospective employer would like to know if you have a plan for these all too common scenarios. Prepare to describe your experience in umgang these types of situations. Multitasking in a Chaotic Environment Working as a bartender may be tough not only because of rowdy customers but also because of the sheer stress of handling multiple orders in a crowded and loud environment. Accordingly, em ployers will want you to describe the most stressful work environment you have experienced. How did you handle the situation? Moreover, if the bar is extremely crowded and busy, how would you decide in which order you tend to customers? Employers will also want to know if you can do more than serving drinks. For example, do you have any experience serving food? Would you be comfortable taking food orders at the bar? Bartenders need to have good memories, so expect to be asked about yours.How strong is your memory? Have you ever had to memorize a long list of items before? How do you handle taking a large order? Being a bartender often requires teamwork. Given this, the job interviewer might want to you to describe a time in which you had to work with your coworkers to solve a schwierigkeit. How did working with others help solve the problem? Leadership Skills and Previous Experiences Effective bartenders have a number of skills, including how to manage employees. In addition to your experience as a bartender, your interviewer will want to know if youve ever worked with or trained a barback. Or how would you feel about training one? A good bartender may also need to be a good salesperson and will often need to make drink recommendations to customers who dont know what they should drink that night, especially if the bar is out of their normal go-to range. So your interviewer might ask you to describe your skills as a salesperson. How do you handle customers who arent sure what they want to eat or drink? Your interviewer will also want to know about your previous experiences in bars. For instance, what types of bars do you enjoy frequenting on weekends? Do you like to spend time in large or small groups of friends when you go out to bars? Heres a list of the questions you may be asked Tell me about your bartending training and experience.Whats your favorite drink to make? Whats your least favorite?Do you have alcohol awareness training or certification?What d ays/hours are you available to work?Do you have any experience serving food? Would you be comfortable taking food orders at the bar?How would you describe your skills as a salesperson?How do you assess whether or not someone has had too much to drink?How strong is your memory? Have you ever had to memorize a long list of items before? How would you handle a customer who has had too much to drink and is being rude or obnoxious?Describe a stressful work environment you have experienced. How did you handle the situation?Describe a time in which you had to work with your coworkers to solve a problem. How did working with others help solve the problem?If the bar is extremely crowded and busy, how would you decide in which order you tend to customers?Have you ever worked with or trained a barback? How would you feel training about training a barback? What type of bars do you enjoy frequenting when you go out on weekends? Do you like to spend time in large or small groups of friends? Ge neral Job Interview Questions Dont prepare for your job interview by only prepping answers to job-specific interview questions as described above. Thats because youll also be asked more general questions about your employment history, education, strengths, weaknesses, achievements, goals, and plans. Given this, it makes sense to review the most common interview questions and prepare answers for each question in a way that shines a bright light on your past experience and your skillset.

Engaging High-Tech

Engaging High-TechEngaging High-TechContrast this stereotype with the 21st century view of how to stimulate innovation in large corporations passion, creativity, and aktion. According to Gary Hamel, these traits do leid necessarily replace obedience, diligence, and intellect they complement them.One of the logical conclusions of Innovate With Influence is that high-tech job seekers should place a high priority on finding employment at large, multi-national corporations. These types of companies have better qualifikation to innovate on a global scale. The key word here is potential, because not all traditional corporations have crossed the chasm when it comes to implementing 21st century management techniques for their global employee base.When interviewing for a high-tech position, you would do well to uncover how far your potential employer has come in the practice of stimulating employee initiative. Keep in mind that when you speak with a corporate representative (e.g. someone in H uman Resources), they will likely present a rosy view. They may claim that employees are encouraged to take initiative. They may highlight real examples of employee passion and creativity.Focus your line of questioning on your potential boss and co-workers instead.Realistically you are looking for the following type of answerDeadlines and productivity are a big part of what we do around here, but initiative plus productivity is prized above all else.Corporations need productive employees to generate revenue. They also need creative employees that take the initiative to guide their teams into the future while simultaneously delivering upon their commitments. There are two lines of questioning that will help you assess the culture of your potential new team.Question the manager. Fully understand the product, the deadlines, and the revenue levels of his or her group. Follow up with questions about initiative How do your direct reports show initiative? What are they working on? How do y ou specifically encourage them to take initiative?Question the direct reports. Do they work on anything else besides the product that they are responsible for? How specifically does their manager, and their corporation, encourage initiative?I work for a large, multi-national corporation (EMC) that is currently in the midst of a shift to a 21st century management style. My company sponsors global idea contests for all employees. I am also starting to see contests held within individual business units. Coding challenges are a part of the corporate experience. Knowledge transfer across geographies is emphasized. Employees and local universities are also encouraged to lecture on their area of expertise.Beware the answer that rings of we work hard, all day, all the time, and/or we dont have time for that stuff. If you have your mind set on the practice of innovation, this particular company may not be the one for you.However, if you find ready answers to your questions, you have likely f ound a corporation that gets it. Theres a good chance that accepting a job offer will result in the opportunity to combine productivity and initiative.Stevehttp//stevetodd.typepad.comTwitter SteveToddEMC Intrapreneur